Teas and Tinctures with Julia Radford

Last night I took the prettiest, (because of the setting and sundown timing) most interesting class with Julia Radford. Julia is an herbalist who lives in my town. She walked us around her beautiful country garden and showed us the various plants that she grows for tincture and tea making. Most of the plants were not new to me and I was even (generally) knowledgeable about their purported uses. But to actually make a tincture or tea from them never crossed my mind. I had never actually considered using the plants in my garden in this way.

Julia served us two kinds of tea – Chocolate Mint and Lemon Balm — each was simply the plant (Chocolate Mint Mentha x piperita f. citrata ‘Chocolate’ and lemon balm Melissa officinalis), dried in a paper bag and stored in dark place. Heat water and steep. Seriously it was that easy and it was amazing. Never again will curse the mint plants for taking over, instead I will pull them and dry them and will be grateful for every cup of tea I drink.

There were so many things that I learned in this class — I can’t wait to share them with you as I put the ideas to good use….but for now, take a look at some of the amazing images I managed to capture through the help of the most stunning evening light.

One Response to Teas and Tinctures with Julia Radford

Love these pictures Rochelle! It was a magical setting and gathering. Since then, I find myself snapping up dandelion for a spot of tea and the wayward mint for a cooling sip of water….not to mention holding up every item to my heart to see if it’s right for me! I can’t wait to experiment more with the leaves and roots of the herbs around here. I know plants most intimately by their flower through making flower essences so this is all new terrain that I can’t wait to explore. It was fun to meet you– and your blog is beautiful and inspiring! Best to you, Melissa

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